13. Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirteen
Violet
I was reading the same page for what felt like the third time, without understanding any of the words, when I heard a knock on the door. I tensed. Chris would knock on the bathroom door. He only used the main door when we were coming in together. Cade made a lot of noise coming down the hallway and Bells knew to call out her name when she knocked. So, who was this?
The knock repeated, and I thought about mind-linking Chris, but took a deep breath and tried to think rationally. If they wanted to hurt me, they wouldn’t have knocked, right?
“Who is it?” I called out.
“It’s Elim. Are you okay? I didn’t see you outside.”
I relaxed, put my tablet on the bed and got up to open the door. I still wasn’t a hundred percent comfortable being alone with Elim, but I was comfortable enough to not be rude.
“I wasn’t planning on going to the full moon celebration. There’s too many people there.” I said, opening the door.
It was the truth, but not the whole truth. I hadn’t been to full moon celebrations since the night my mate died, and I was scared. Scared that I would find my second-chance mate and lose him again. Scared that I wouldn’t find him, knowing who else was looking down there.
Elim waited until I was sitting by my bed again before he stepped inside. He left the door open and walked to the other side of the room, leaning against the window.
“You’re not even curious to see if your mate is down there?” he asked.
“Not really. Maybe when I get better,” I lied. I was curious, but I also wanted to remain hopeful for another month. “Don’t you want to be down there when the moon peaks, so you can see if there’s a mate down there for you?” I changed the subject.
I was the one who suggested he ask Bells if he could join and see if he had a mate like Aunt Kassie and Adrien.
Elim looked disappointed for a moment before he turned and drew the curtains open. “It’s peaking already.”
“I’m sorry, Elim. I’m sure the Moon Goddess will grant you a mate soon.”
“It was worth a shot to see if she was here,” he sighed, looking at me with sadness in his eyes.
I felt for the guy. Before I lost Billy, finding my mate was all I could dream of.
“Do you just want to hang out? I was reading, but I can put on a movie. Bells signed me into her Disney Plus account,” I suggested, trying to cheer him up.
It seemed to work because he finally smiled at me.
“That sounds great. I can’t do anything until everyone is sleeping. Do you need some snacks? I can go downstairs and get some for you.”
“Ooh, would you sneak me something? I skipped dinner.” Because I made Chris go downstairs to see if he had a second-chance mate, I thought.
“Sure. Anything you don’t like?” he asked and I shook my head.
“I’m not a picky eater. If you want to bring a tumbler of blood for yourself, that’s fine, too. Adrien and Aunt Kassie learned to be comfortable about it around us.”
They didn’t always have to drink blood, but whenever they were going on serious missions, they drank blood. They said their bodies processed the nutrients faster.
A small frown came back to Elim’s face. “Are you related to Uncle Gonzalo? Is that why you call Aunt Kassie aunt?”
“No. It’s just that his family is incredibly close to mine, so we grew up calling them that.”
“Ah... umm... I’ll go get you that food.”
I almost squeaked at how fast he left.
That was weird, I thought, but put it out of my mind.
‘I came and stayed for the peak. Can I come back now?’ Chris mind-linked me.
I could hear the grumpiness in his voice and couldn’t help but smile. I was the hermit here, but this man acted like he was the one scared of people.
‘Doesn’t Titan want to run?’
‘No. These aren’t our pack members. He feels no compulsion to run with them.’
‘Well, come on up then. Elim showed up a few minutes ago, so I thought we’d watch a movie.’
‘You’re alone with Elim?’ There was a bit of disbelief in his voice and also a touch of hurt, though I could be imagining it.
‘Sort of? He made sure to leave the door open, kept his distance and has been very respectful. He’s getting me dinner right now, and then we’re picking the movie.’
‘Why didn’t you remind me? I would have brought your dinner,’ Chris grumbled.
‘One missed meal doesn’t kill me, Chris. You’re allowed a night off. Grab some extra snacks and food for yourself, and let’s watch a movie,’ I told him.
‘Fine,’ he replied and cut off the mind-link.
His response was a little confusing. It wasn’t his usual old man grumpy voice. He sounded angry.
I looked over at the window, my nerves beginning to appear. Although the full moon peaked only for an instant, wolves could always found their mates for a good half hour after. Had that time elapsed yet? I wasn’t sure how to tell. If Chris came up here now, was there still time to see if he was my second-chance mate or not?
The only way we’ll know for sure is if the bond snaps into place when he comes in, or we wait to be sure during the next full moon, Nenetl answered.
Maybe making him leave was a bad idea, I said.
You were trying to protect yourself. At least it doesn’t seem like anyone else here is his second-chance mate. He wouldn’t be coming up if he had mated to someone.
Silver linings. I’d take it.
Elim showed up at the door a moment later, making me eep in surprise.
“You’re so quiet.” I laughed.
“I’m light on my feet,” he grinned, setting the tray of food on the nightstand. He pulled the chair Chris usually occupied to the other side of the nightstand and grabbed a tumbler from the tray. “What are we watching?”
“I thought we’d choose together. I’m not sure what kind of stuff you like,” I answered.
“Well, nothing that will make me cry in front of the lady,” he joked, smiling over at me.
There was a tiny butterfly in my stomach at his words. Was he flirting with me?
I think so, Nenetl answered, her tail wagging. How does it feel? Triggering?
No, I answered.
He wasn’t being creepy, he was just being sweet.
“Violet?” Elim interrupted my conversation with my wolf.
“Sorry. My wolf was speaking to me. Let’s see. Nothing for cry babies,” I teased, flipping through the options.
“Ouch. That had the opposite effect I wanted,” he laughed.
“Just keeping it real, man.”
I cringed internally at my words. Who said that anymore? Dad, is who, but it made Elim laugh, so I guess it was okay.
We vetoed a couple of movies right off the bat. We were discussing comedy versus horror movies when I heard the thumping steps of my grumpy guard approaching.
“Should I check to see who that is?” Elim asked.
“No. It’s just Chris,” I replied, grabbing a stem full of grapes from the tray. Chris stepped into the room with another tray full of food and fruit. He quickly schooled the glare and disappointment on his face when he noticed Elim sitting in his chair, and then looked around the room, frowning.
“I can just go to my room,” he grumbled when we both realized there wasn’t another chair in my room.
“I can—” Elim started to stand.
“Come sit on the other side of the bed, Chris,” I told him, patting the bed, not giving him a chance to leave me. I felt more comfortable with Elim as long as Chris was in the room.
Chris hesitated for a moment, his eyes flickering to where my hand was on the bed. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” I answered, hoping neither man could hear my heart speeding up a little.
Chris walked around the bed and sat very stiffly at first, so I grabbed one of the many pillows I liked sleeping with and set it against the headboard, patting it so he would relax. He slid back until he was resting against it with one leg hanging off the edge. He placed the tray he was carrying by the other leg and motioned to the empanadas.
“I brought your favorite.”
I smiled wide and grabbed one of the three he brought. They weren’t Mom’s but they were still tasty.
“Alright, what are we watching?”
I turned back to the TV. Elim was frowning a little now, and I wondered what had changed when he finally voiced his thoughts.
“How does your germaphobia work, exactly? How is it you’re only worried about certain people’s germs, and you’re okay with picking up a bleeding rabbit?”
The smile slipped from my face and Chris gave a low growl, but I put a hand on his arm. I liked Elim, and it wasn’t fair to lie to him.
“I’m not a germaphobe, Elim. Bells was just trying to cover for me.”
“Oh. If I’m not sup—”
“No, it’s okay. It’s just... I had something happen to me last year, and I’ve been uncomfortable around people ever since. I’m in therapy to get better, and I think I am...” I looked over at Chris questioningly, and he nodded at me.
“You’ve been doing really well,” he confirmed.
“I guess what I’m saying is to just have some patience. I still startle easily, and it takes a while to be able to handle people near me. I need to get to know you before I can trust you, so if you stick around, maybe you’ll get to see it.”
“I—Thank you for trusting me with the information,” Elim replied, smiling at me again.
I nodded and turned back to the TV, not wanting to talk about it anymore.
“I’m feeling horror flick. How about you guys?”
“Whatever you want,” they both answered at the same time, making me roll my eyes.
I chose a new release, but very quickly regretted it because while I may have called Elim a crybaby, I was a scaredy cat. By the mid point of the movie, I was sure I had made permanent finger indentations on Chris’ arm, and both men were watching my reactions more than the movie.
Close to the end, Chris stood and went to the restroom, so I grabbed a pillow to replace his arm. I jumped when I heard the bathroom flushing a few minutes later, and Chris came back, checking on the party through the curtain before coming back to the movie.
I sighed with relief when the movie credits began to roll and let go of the pillow I’d been clutching. I sat up on my knees, stretching my arms. Chris started chuckling, making Elim and I turn to look at him with confusion, when something jumped out of the credits, making me scream and dive into his chest. His strong arms came around me as he caught me, and I buried my head into his chest, my heart thundering in my ears.
“You okay there, Elim? Do you need a hand, too?” Chris was laughing hard as he held me.
I pulled my head up and peeked at Elim, who looked white as a ghost. A hand was resting on his chest and he was breathing very rapidly. I giggled, happy to see I wasn’t the only one that got scared. I looked up at Chris, who was still laughing at both of us.
“You knew what was going to happen. Have you seen this one before?” I asked.
“I watched it the other night,” he admitted.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve chosen something else.”
“It’s a good movie. I was okay watching it again.” He was still chuckling as he talked, and the vibration of his chest felt good.
So much so, that it started waking up parts of my body I wasn’t used to. That was when I became keenly aware that I was sitting on his lap. I scrambled off awkwardly, my face burning with embarrassment.
“I’m going to go change my underwear.” Elim broke the awkward silence in the room with a chuckle. “Thanks for the movie. I’ll be sure to ask for an extra pillow to hug if I end up having nightmares.”
“Some assassin,” I giggled.
“Enforcer,” he corrected. “At least, that’s what Aunt Kassie is making everyone call it now. Goodnight, Violet.”
“Night!” I called out. I turned to look at Chris, narrowing my eyes at him. “You only watched that because you knew about that last jump-scare, didn’t you?”
Chris tried to hide his smile, but it just made him look like he was puckering his lips for a kiss.
“Maybe,” he finally admitted with a chuckle.
“Uncool.”
“So, it wouldn’t be funny if I told you I set up my phone to record the reactions?”
I narrowed my eyes at him again. “Elim on there?” I asked.
“Probably,” he answered with a twinkle in his eye.
“Can I see?” I asked.
Chris chuckled and grabbed his phone from where it was standing on the window sill. I walked over to watch it with him, and was doubled over laughing as I watched Elim jump about two feet off the chair.
“Am I forgiven?”
“You’re forgiven,” I managed to reply as I caught my breath.
“I’ll clean up and let you get to bed.”
I grabbed the tray Elim had brought and passed it over. It still had a few treats in there, but I ate like half of the stuff Chris brought and got full. As he was heading to the door, we started hearing people stomping up the stairs and Cade calling Bells’ name. Chris froze and looked at me. The two of them were arguing very loudly.
“Should we go see?” I asked, wanting to give my sister some sort of backup.
Chris shook his head and sat down on the bed again.
“Not our monkeys, not our circus. We’re just here to provide a few bananas.”
“I’ve never heard that last part before,” I giggled.
We sat on the bed in silence for a few minutes, and when the arguing had stopped long enough to let us know they weren’t still in the hall, Chris stood.
“I think they’re done,” he said, making me nod. “I’ll be right back. Do you need anything from the kitchen?”
“Water.”
“So, no luck tonight?” I asked when Chris returned and handed me a bottle of water.
Chris stared down at me for a moment before he sat down.
“No. I didn’t expect there to be.”
“I’m sorry I made you go. I just thought—”
“That I wanted to find another mate?” he asked, giving me a weird look.
“I—” What did I think when I sent him down there? “I think you deserve to be happy, Chris,” I answered as honestly as I could. “The girls here seem to like you. I thought maybe...” I swallowed. I needed to make sure you weren’t theirs, before I got too attached and lost you. “ I thought maybe you’d like one of them, too,” I finished quietly.
“Would that make you happy? If I was interested in one of them?” Chris asked, making me look at him.
I was trying to read the look on his face, but it was blank as he waited for my answer.
I shook my head. “I don’t want you to miss out on being happy because of me. If they can make you happy—”
“They can’t.”
“Then, who can?” I asked before I could help myself.
Chris stared at me for a while and I held my breath. Eventually, he sighed and stood. I thought he would walk away without answering, but he surprised me by leaning down and placing a long chaste kiss on my cheek.
“Someone I don’t deserve,” he whispered, pulling back. “Good night, Violet. I’ll see you in a few hours for training.”
My heart hammered in my chest as I watched Chris leave the room. I was in shock at his answer.
Could Bells be right? Could Chris actually like me? Or was he referring to someone else? He had to be talking about me, right? Why would he kiss my cheek otherwise? I looked at the door to his room, which as usual was open a tiny crack in case I needed him. Should I go ask him?
No. I couldn’t. I wasn’t that brave. Plus he said he didn’t deserve this person. Maybe he meant me, and maybe he didn’t. Either way, Chris was wrong. He deserved the world. I’d just have to convince him of that, so he could go after his person. Whether that be me or not.